Have you outgrown your younger self’s definition of success? Are you ready for something more aligned with who you are today?

I’m grateful to the part of me that, 20 years ago, chose law as my first career.

This part prioritized my survival at a vulnerable time in my life. I was grieving the loss of my parents, financially on my own, and in search of stability. Law felt like a solid path. It offered structure, security, and a clear way forward.

When survival is our main concern, we rarely stop to ask: “Is this what I really want?” Creating a compelling career vision based on the desires of our authentic self feels frivolous–like a luxury we don’t get to have.

For years, I suppressed my true career desires. I worked hard, created a measure of financial stability, and repeatedly tried to persuade myself that this should be enough.

Until I couldn’t ignore the restlessness anymore. I began turning down the volume on the outside world and my conditioned self so I could hear the voice of my authentic self.

• I began paying attention to how drained litigation made me feel.
• How I needed to push and give myself daily pep talks to do my work.
• How I was more motivated by fear of the consequences of not doing my work than I was by love for my work.
• How I envied people who loved what they did.
• How my body was sending signals—through insomnia, anxiety, chronic stress, aches and pains, frequent respiratory infections—that I had been ignoring.
• How I had even started to envy my husband because he felt fulfilled and energized by his in-house job.

I realized that the part of me that helped me survive when my parents died had served me well for a time. But it had also caused me to lose touch with a deeper part of myself.

The part that knows what makes me feel alive. The part that isn’t motivated by fear—but by purpose and passion.

If you’re feeling restless in your career, consider the following questions:

• What do you love learning and talking about?
• What issues–or needs of the world–do you care deeply about?
• When do you feel energized by your work?
• When do you feel drained?
• When do you feel most fully alive?
• What piques your curiosity?
• What kind of contribution feels personally meaningful?
• Who and how do you want to be in your career?
• Where might your deep joy and the world’s deep hunger meet (h/t to Frederick Buechner)?
• If you believed the amount of money you need would follow, what (if anything) would you change about your career?

The answers to these questions are breadcrumbs you can follow to align your career with your authentic self.

It might mean modifying how you show up in your current role or changing something about your current role. It might mean pivoting to a different legal job. It might even mean pursuing a new career.

It’s not too late. You get to choose.